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Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Evaluation Time

I recently went camping and had several opportunities while there to evaluate some of my gear and skills. Here is a brief rundown:

Blanket
I keep a blanket in my car at all times. I had no sleeping bag on this trip as the temperature was not supposed to drop below 55 degrees. As often happens, the forecast was not quite correct. Temps dropped into the mid-forties. A single blanket on top and a tarp to sleep on were not quite warm enough for my preferences.

Lesson learned: from now on, I plan to have a sleeping bag in my car at all times.
Grade: C-

Fitness
I've been working out a lot lately, including 5k runs as well as body weight strength training. This paid off. During the camping trip, we went on a 5k hike. I took my chest rig, backpack, and primary rifle. In my current physical condition, it was not difficult at all, and I could easily have endured the burden all day.

Grade: B+

Marksmanship
We shot out to 600+ yards. With the ACOG, it was like child's play. My cousin routinely made the shots, or darn near. I kept everything inside of 12". This is a sword I plan to keep sharp.

Grade: A

Gear
The backpack worked as expected, as did everything in it. Other than the sleeping bag situation, all gear functioned as expected. I was in want for nothing.

Grade: A

Fire
It took me about 10 minutes to collect the kindling. A magnesium fire starter lit it, and the logs we'd collected were ablaze in no time. The fire kept me comfortable the whole evening.

Grade: A

Rifle
I could not have been more pleased with my Recon rifle. It was the only rifle present (other than my M16A4 and my cousin's AR15 - which I built) that did not experience any malfunctions. Every other rifle present had jams, misfeeds, or some other issue.

My only concern is my personal opinions on my modified M16A4 and the Recon rifle. Either would have been more than sufficient.